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Human brain accessing memories extremely fast
The human brain is confronted with countless details every day. Many of the sensory impressions remain "stored". Researchers have now found that accessing such memories is much faster than previously thought. The brain only needs a few hundred milliseconds.
Brain is faster than expected
The human brain is often referred to as a biological miracle. Even after many decades, you can still remember long-ago experiences. Researchers have now found that the brain has memories of their experiences much faster than previously thought. According to a report by the news agency dpa, neuroscientists from the universities of Konstanz and Birmingham in the journal "Journal of Neuroscience" report that the sensory brain areas become active within 100 to 200 milliseconds.
Memory function of our brain. Image: adimas - fotolia Half a second is very long
Previously, it was thought that the brain would have to search longer for memories in the hippocampus. "So far, we went from about half a second. This is very long in the dimensions of brain activity, "explained Gerd Waldhauser, who is now conducting research at the Ruhr University Bochum. The scientists initially asked the study participants to memorize certain objects as accurately as possible. Later, the researchers asked the memories again. It has been reported that electroencephalography (EEG) was used as the method of analysis, in which the activity of individual brain areas can be deduced from voltage fluctuations on the head surface with high temporal resolution.
Sensory information is reactivated
For the most part, the same areas are active in remembering the experiences as when saving these experiences. Each episodic memory, according to the experts, is unique and tied to a specific place and time. In the process of remembering these sensory information are reactivated - so, for example, areas of the sense of sight again active. Already after 100 to 200 milliseconds as the analysis showed. "It has been thought that the brain takes a while to look for it in the hippocampus, an important region for long-term memory," said Simon Hanslmayr of the University of Birmingham. "Our results shake this idea, because they show a very rapid response of the brain." Earlier studies have provided initial evidence.
Remembering also triggers forgetting
As the scientists found out, it is precisely these early processes that are crucial for successfully remembering an event. They found that it interfered with recall of the memories when the early reactivation was inhibited with so-called transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The fact that memory can be influenced by technical aids was also part of older investigations. Researchers at the University of New York, for example, have found that light surges can help improve memory. Also interesting are the findings, which were also won by researchers from the University of Birmingham. A research team at the university last year reported in the journal "Nature Neuroscience" that old memories are forgotten for new memories. According to her, when people remembered something concrete, they forgot similar, disturbing memories. Remembering also triggers forgetting at the same time.
Possible benefit for psychiatry
Waldhauser explained about the current study: "The results help us to better understand the episodic memory, ie the memory of human experiences." Semantic memory, on the other hand, stores facts - such as that Paris is the capital of France. It was said that psychiatry might be useful. "It would be helpful to be able to intervene in the retrieval of memories, for example in people with post-traumatic stress disorder, which are plagued by recurring unwanted memories," Waldhauser said. It could be that in the future one could specifically take action against these recurring images. However, further studies are needed for this initially. (Ad)